Documentation / git-stash.txton commit Recommend git-filter-repo instead of git-filter-branch (9df53c5)
   1git-stash(1)
   2============
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git-stash - Stash the changes in a dirty working directory away
   7
   8SYNOPSIS
   9--------
  10[verse]
  11'git stash' list [<options>]
  12'git stash' show [<options>] [<stash>]
  13'git stash' drop [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]
  14'git stash' ( pop | apply ) [--index] [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]
  15'git stash' branch <branchname> [<stash>]
  16'git stash' [push [-p|--patch] [-k|--[no-]keep-index] [-q|--quiet]
  17             [-u|--include-untracked] [-a|--all] [-m|--message <message>]
  18             [--] [<pathspec>...]]
  19'git stash' clear
  20'git stash' create [<message>]
  21'git stash' store [-m|--message <message>] [-q|--quiet] <commit>
  22
  23DESCRIPTION
  24-----------
  25
  26Use `git stash` when you want to record the current state of the
  27working directory and the index, but want to go back to a clean
  28working directory.  The command saves your local modifications away
  29and reverts the working directory to match the `HEAD` commit.
  30
  31The modifications stashed away by this command can be listed with
  32`git stash list`, inspected with `git stash show`, and restored
  33(potentially on top of a different commit) with `git stash apply`.
  34Calling `git stash` without any arguments is equivalent to `git stash push`.
  35A stash is by default listed as "WIP on 'branchname' ...", but
  36you can give a more descriptive message on the command line when
  37you create one.
  38
  39The latest stash you created is stored in `refs/stash`; older
  40stashes are found in the reflog of this reference and can be named using
  41the usual reflog syntax (e.g. `stash@{0}` is the most recently
  42created stash, `stash@{1}` is the one before it, `stash@{2.hours.ago}`
  43is also possible). Stashes may also be referenced by specifying just the
  44stash index (e.g. the integer `n` is equivalent to `stash@{n}`).
  45
  46OPTIONS
  47-------
  48
  49push [-p|--patch] [-k|--[no-]keep-index] [-u|--include-untracked] [-a|--all] [-q|--quiet] [-m|--message <message>] [--] [<pathspec>...]::
  50
  51        Save your local modifications to a new 'stash entry' and roll them
  52        back to HEAD (in the working tree and in the index).
  53        The <message> part is optional and gives
  54        the description along with the stashed state.
  55+
  56For quickly making a snapshot, you can omit "push".  In this mode,
  57non-option arguments are not allowed to prevent a misspelled
  58subcommand from making an unwanted stash entry.  The two exceptions to this
  59are `stash -p` which acts as alias for `stash push -p` and pathspecs,
  60which are allowed after a double hyphen `--` for disambiguation.
  61+
  62When pathspec is given to 'git stash push', the new stash entry records the
  63modified states only for the files that match the pathspec.  The index
  64entries and working tree files are then rolled back to the state in
  65HEAD only for these files, too, leaving files that do not match the
  66pathspec intact.
  67+
  68If the `--keep-index` option is used, all changes already added to the
  69index are left intact.
  70+
  71If the `--include-untracked` option is used, all untracked files are also
  72stashed and then cleaned up with `git clean`, leaving the working directory
  73in a very clean state. If the `--all` option is used instead then the
  74ignored files are stashed and cleaned in addition to the untracked files.
  75+
  76With `--patch`, you can interactively select hunks from the diff
  77between HEAD and the working tree to be stashed.  The stash entry is
  78constructed such that its index state is the same as the index state
  79of your repository, and its worktree contains only the changes you
  80selected interactively.  The selected changes are then rolled back
  81from your worktree. See the ``Interactive Mode'' section of
  82linkgit:git-add[1] to learn how to operate the `--patch` mode.
  83+
  84The `--patch` option implies `--keep-index`.  You can use
  85`--no-keep-index` to override this.
  86
  87save [-p|--patch] [-k|--[no-]keep-index] [-u|--include-untracked] [-a|--all] [-q|--quiet] [<message>]::
  88
  89        This option is deprecated in favour of 'git stash push'.  It
  90        differs from "stash push" in that it cannot take pathspecs,
  91        and any non-option arguments form the message.
  92
  93list [<options>]::
  94
  95        List the stash entries that you currently have.  Each 'stash entry' is
  96        listed with its name (e.g. `stash@{0}` is the latest entry, `stash@{1}` is
  97        the one before, etc.), the name of the branch that was current when the
  98        entry was made, and a short description of the commit the entry was
  99        based on.
 100+
 101----------------------------------------------------------------
 102stash@{0}: WIP on submit: 6ebd0e2... Update git-stash documentation
 103stash@{1}: On master: 9cc0589... Add git-stash
 104----------------------------------------------------------------
 105+
 106The command takes options applicable to the 'git log'
 107command to control what is shown and how. See linkgit:git-log[1].
 108
 109show [<options>] [<stash>]::
 110
 111        Show the changes recorded in the stash entry as a diff between the
 112        stashed contents and the commit back when the stash entry was first
 113        created. When no `<stash>` is given, it shows the latest one.
 114        By default, the command shows the diffstat, but it will accept any
 115        format known to 'git diff' (e.g., `git stash show -p stash@{1}`
 116        to view the second most recent entry in patch form).
 117        You can use stash.showStat and/or stash.showPatch config variables
 118        to change the default behavior.
 119
 120pop [--index] [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]::
 121
 122        Remove a single stashed state from the stash list and apply it
 123        on top of the current working tree state, i.e., do the inverse
 124        operation of `git stash push`. The working directory must
 125        match the index.
 126+
 127Applying the state can fail with conflicts; in this case, it is not
 128removed from the stash list. You need to resolve the conflicts by hand
 129and call `git stash drop` manually afterwards.
 130+
 131If the `--index` option is used, then tries to reinstate not only the working
 132tree's changes, but also the index's ones. However, this can fail, when you
 133have conflicts (which are stored in the index, where you therefore can no
 134longer apply the changes as they were originally).
 135+
 136When no `<stash>` is given, `stash@{0}` is assumed, otherwise `<stash>` must
 137be a reference of the form `stash@{<revision>}`.
 138
 139apply [--index] [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]::
 140
 141        Like `pop`, but do not remove the state from the stash list. Unlike `pop`,
 142        `<stash>` may be any commit that looks like a commit created by
 143        `stash push` or `stash create`.
 144
 145branch <branchname> [<stash>]::
 146
 147        Creates and checks out a new branch named `<branchname>` starting from
 148        the commit at which the `<stash>` was originally created, applies the
 149        changes recorded in `<stash>` to the new working tree and index.
 150        If that succeeds, and `<stash>` is a reference of the form
 151        `stash@{<revision>}`, it then drops the `<stash>`. When no `<stash>`
 152        is given, applies the latest one.
 153+
 154This is useful if the branch on which you ran `git stash push` has
 155changed enough that `git stash apply` fails due to conflicts. Since
 156the stash entry is applied on top of the commit that was HEAD at the
 157time `git stash` was run, it restores the originally stashed state
 158with no conflicts.
 159
 160clear::
 161        Remove all the stash entries. Note that those entries will then
 162        be subject to pruning, and may be impossible to recover (see
 163        'Examples' below for a possible strategy).
 164
 165drop [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]::
 166
 167        Remove a single stash entry from the list of stash entries.
 168        When no `<stash>` is given, it removes the latest one.
 169        i.e. `stash@{0}`, otherwise `<stash>` must be a valid stash
 170        log reference of the form `stash@{<revision>}`.
 171
 172create::
 173
 174        Create a stash entry (which is a regular commit object) and
 175        return its object name, without storing it anywhere in the ref
 176        namespace.
 177        This is intended to be useful for scripts.  It is probably not
 178        the command you want to use; see "push" above.
 179
 180store::
 181
 182        Store a given stash created via 'git stash create' (which is a
 183        dangling merge commit) in the stash ref, updating the stash
 184        reflog.  This is intended to be useful for scripts.  It is
 185        probably not the command you want to use; see "push" above.
 186
 187DISCUSSION
 188----------
 189
 190A stash entry is represented as a commit whose tree records the state
 191of the working directory, and its first parent is the commit at `HEAD`
 192when the entry was created.  The tree of the second parent records the
 193state of the index when the entry is made, and it is made a child of
 194the `HEAD` commit.  The ancestry graph looks like this:
 195
 196            .----W
 197           /    /
 198     -----H----I
 199
 200where `H` is the `HEAD` commit, `I` is a commit that records the state
 201of the index, and `W` is a commit that records the state of the working
 202tree.
 203
 204
 205EXAMPLES
 206--------
 207
 208Pulling into a dirty tree::
 209
 210When you are in the middle of something, you learn that there are
 211upstream changes that are possibly relevant to what you are
 212doing.  When your local changes do not conflict with the changes in
 213the upstream, a simple `git pull` will let you move forward.
 214+
 215However, there are cases in which your local changes do conflict with
 216the upstream changes, and `git pull` refuses to overwrite your
 217changes.  In such a case, you can stash your changes away,
 218perform a pull, and then unstash, like this:
 219+
 220----------------------------------------------------------------
 221$ git pull
 222 ...
 223file foobar not up to date, cannot merge.
 224$ git stash
 225$ git pull
 226$ git stash pop
 227----------------------------------------------------------------
 228
 229Interrupted workflow::
 230
 231When you are in the middle of something, your boss comes in and
 232demands that you fix something immediately.  Traditionally, you would
 233make a commit to a temporary branch to store your changes away, and
 234return to your original branch to make the emergency fix, like this:
 235+
 236----------------------------------------------------------------
 237# ... hack hack hack ...
 238$ git switch -c my_wip
 239$ git commit -a -m "WIP"
 240$ git switch master
 241$ edit emergency fix
 242$ git commit -a -m "Fix in a hurry"
 243$ git switch my_wip
 244$ git reset --soft HEAD^
 245# ... continue hacking ...
 246----------------------------------------------------------------
 247+
 248You can use 'git stash' to simplify the above, like this:
 249+
 250----------------------------------------------------------------
 251# ... hack hack hack ...
 252$ git stash
 253$ edit emergency fix
 254$ git commit -a -m "Fix in a hurry"
 255$ git stash pop
 256# ... continue hacking ...
 257----------------------------------------------------------------
 258
 259Testing partial commits::
 260
 261You can use `git stash push --keep-index` when you want to make two or
 262more commits out of the changes in the work tree, and you want to test
 263each change before committing:
 264+
 265----------------------------------------------------------------
 266# ... hack hack hack ...
 267$ git add --patch foo            # add just first part to the index
 268$ git stash push --keep-index    # save all other changes to the stash
 269$ edit/build/test first part
 270$ git commit -m 'First part'     # commit fully tested change
 271$ git stash pop                  # prepare to work on all other changes
 272# ... repeat above five steps until one commit remains ...
 273$ edit/build/test remaining parts
 274$ git commit foo -m 'Remaining parts'
 275----------------------------------------------------------------
 276
 277Recovering stash entries that were cleared/dropped erroneously::
 278
 279If you mistakenly drop or clear stash entries, they cannot be recovered
 280through the normal safety mechanisms.  However, you can try the
 281following incantation to get a list of stash entries that are still in
 282your repository, but not reachable any more:
 283+
 284----------------------------------------------------------------
 285git fsck --unreachable |
 286grep commit | cut -d\  -f3 |
 287xargs git log --merges --no-walk --grep=WIP
 288----------------------------------------------------------------
 289
 290
 291SEE ALSO
 292--------
 293linkgit:git-checkout[1],
 294linkgit:git-commit[1],
 295linkgit:git-reflog[1],
 296linkgit:git-reset[1],
 297linkgit:git-switch[1]
 298
 299GIT
 300---
 301Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite